Cape Town Summer Market is expanding this year, celebrating the diversity and shared heritage of Cape Town, locally produced goods, and a feast of local entertainment.
The much-anticipated Cape Town Summer Market kicks off on 14 December 2013 in the heritage-rich Company’s Garden in the heart of the city centre. It runs until 30 December (excluding Christmas Day and Boxing Day). The Cape Town Summer Market also has a twin this year: the Langa Summer Market from 20 to 24 December 2013 in the Langa Quarter just off the N2.
The Cape Town Summer Market is in its second year as the re-styled Adderley Street Night Market, the market promises more vendors, lights and greater accessibility for all the people of Cape Town.
Explaining the new market in Langa, City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic, Environmental and Spatial Planning, Councillor Garreth Bloor: ‘This is in celebration of this historic area and is part of our commitment to being an inclusive, opportunity city. We hope the new Langa Summer Market will be a catalyst for further economic opportunity in this area’.
‘We hope that the Langa Summer Market’s legacy will strengthen our existing efforts to increase micro-enterprise development in this area,’ said Councillor Bloor.
Cape Town has seen an explosion of new markets in recent years, but none can boast the setting and convenient location of the City’s flagship summer market. The Company’s Garden is a national heritage site, surrounded by some of the city’s landmark buildings and tourist destinations including the Iziko National Art Gallery and Iziko National Museum, the Planetarium, St George’s Anglican Cathedral, the Houses of Parliament, the Slave Museum and the Jewish Museum.
Stretching almost a kilometre from the corner of Adderley Street and Wale Street in the north, to the entrance of the Mount Nelson Hotel in Orange Street at the mountain end, Government Avenue forms the backbone of the Garden and is one of the city’s great walking retreats.
‘Cape Town and the Western Cape are home to many emerging businesses in the creative industries and we have made a special effort to accommodate these, to grow the local economy, and provide these small businesses with a much-needed market outlet,’ said Toby Chance, Managing Director of Adele Lucas Promotions (the event organiser).
The Company’s Garden will be bustling with stalls selling everything from hand-crafted pieces for the home and stylish clothing and jewellery to tasty food delights and craft beers. Some of the vendor highlights this year include Bar Di Bar – a 1975 VW Kombi modified into a craft beer and wine bar; HWK Art, whose hand-made metal art pieces and leatherwear will surely stand out to visitors; and Mercantile Arts and Crafts with their children’s goods, bags and accessories.
In addition, many of the most popular vendors from 2012 will be back. These include the Grate Plate, a clever device for grating garlic and other herbs; and Funk my Phone and Karoo Worx, whose sisal vessels, lights and hand-made ceramic pieces sold out before last year’s market ended.
All in all, the Cape Town Summer Market will accommodate around 250 vendors this year, and those selling locally produced goods have been given preference. The market runs from 12 noon until late in the evening daily, and the City is investing in new lighting to make sure that vendors and visitors are safe as the night unfolds and the festivities begin.
‘Markets such as these are vital for the development of entrepreneurs and provide a necessary injection for local and international tourism for the city,’ said Councillor Bloor.
via Cape Town Green Map.
